Dissolving-view machine.



T. B. EASTMAN.

DISSOLVING VIEW MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1905. RENEWED APR. 13, 1907.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TARLE'ION B. EASTMAN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OFONE-FOURTH T0 HENRY J'. EASTMAN, ONE-FOURTH TO FRANCIS M. WRIGHT, ANDONE-FOURTH TO GEORGE H. MOTT, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

DISSOLVING-VIEW MACHINE.

Application filed January 20, 1905, Serial No. 242,007.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TARLETON B. EAST- HAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco andState of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Dissolving-View Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for exhibiting dissolving views, theobject of the invention being to provide an apparatus of this characterof small compass by which a succession of dissolving views may be seenthrough a lens, either single or stereoscopic. The machine may be usedin connection with a slot device for permitting a person depositing acoin to look at a certain series of views, or may be used without suchslot device. As such slot device forms no part of my present inventionit is not shown herein.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a vertical section of theapparatus; Fig. 2 is a side View of the mechanism and the frame thereofremoved from the casing; Fig. 3 is a similar View of the other side ofthe frame; Fig. 4 is a side view of the upper part of the frame, thedisks being removed to show the friction wheels; Fig. 5 is a verticallongitudinal section of the upper part of the apparatus; Fig. 6 is aview of the upper portion of the opposite side of the apparatus to thatshown in Fig. 4, certain parts being removed.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a frame, consisting of twouprights 2 united at the top and bottom by cross pieces 3. The apparatusis illustrated herein as driven by an electric motor, although otherpower may be used. The motor is shown at 4, be tween the two uprights,and on the shaft 5 of the motor, outside the frame, is mounted a pulley6 which drives, by a belt 7, a shaft 8 carrying a pinion 9 which mesheswith a gear wheel 10 on a transverse shaft 11, which carries a' pinion12, meshing with a gear wheel 13 on a transverse shaft 14, the object ofthe gearing being to reduce the speed of the latter shaft relatively tothe speed of the electric motor shaft. On said latter shaft 14 ismounted a sprocket wheel 15 around which travels a sprocket chain 16which also travels around a sprocket wheel 17 upon a shaft 18. Saidlatter shaft carries Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

Renewed April 13, 1907. Serial No. 368,085.

a short crank 19 having at the end a pin 20 which passes into a slot 21in the lower end of a pitman 22 pivoted at 23 to a disk 24 loose on atransverse shaft 25. The rotation of the shaft 18 thus produces anoscillating motion of the disk 24. The object of providing a slot in thelower end of the pitman is to obtain lost motion between the crank andpitman, in order that the disk will ad vance during only aboutone-fourth of the time of one revolution of the shaft 18, the object ofwhich will be hereinafter explained. Said disk 24 is connected by a link26 to a second disk 27 loose upon a lower shaft 28, so that said disksoscillate in unison. Said disks carry pawls 29 which engage ratchetwheels 30 fast to the shafts 25, 28, so that by the oscillation of saiddisks there is obtained an intermittent rotation of said shafts. Inorder to retain each shaft at the point to which it has been rotatedthere is provided a spring 31 having a rounded end which enters insuccession notches 32 in a friction disk 33 mounted upon the shaft, saidnotches corresponding with the teeth of the ratchet wheel. The weight ofthe link 26 is counterbalanced by a spring 34, but a weight may also beused for this purpose. Said shafts 25, 28 carry between the uprightspolygonal drums 35 the faces of which form supports upon which aremounted pictures 36. While both of said shafts rotate intermittently itis arranged that each shaft is advancing while the other shaft isstationary. It will be observed that for this purpose the pawls point inopposite directions. Therefore while one pawl is operative the other isinoperative.

Upon the shaft 18 is mounted outside the frame, a segment 37, of whichthe central section 38 is opaque and occupies about onefourth of acircle and on each side thereof are two sections 39 made preferably ofcelluloid and shaded so as to be more transparent at the ends fartherfrom the opaque central portion. Upon the outside of the frame andoutside said segment are mounted upper and lower electric lamps 40, 41opposite to the path traversed by the opaque portion in its revolution.The frame is formed with holes 42 through which the light can passunless shut off by said opaque portion 38 or after passing through themore or less transparent portions 39. There is provided between the twouprights a thick sheet of plate glass 43 at such an angle that a personlooking down upon said plate glass through the sight hole at and lens 45therein will see either a picture of the lower series through the glass,if said lower series is illuminated, and the upper series is indarkness, or an image of a picture of the upper series, if the lowerseries be in darkness and the upper series illuminated. When thecelluloid or partly transparent portions pass between the lamps and thepictures, a picture of each series is seen, one direct and one byreflection, and the two pictures commingle for a time, one graduallyfading out and the other becoming stronger until the first disappearsaltogether. There is provided a V-shaped piece of wood &6 between thetwo uprights forming a shutter for the light between the two series ofpictures.

The lamp 40 is made to give a stronger light than the lamp 41, thisbeing needed to illuminate the upper series of pictures which are seenby reflection and therefore require a stronger light than those seendirectly through the glass 43.

If desired, between the two partly transparent portions and opposite tothe opaque segment, there may be provided variously colored glass pieceswhich may throw lights of various colors upon the pictures to produce apleasing effect.

The whole apparatus is inclosed in a suitable casing 47 in which isformed the sight hole 44, having the lens 45 mounted therein.

I claim 1. In a view machine, the combination of a plurality ofindividual supports for pictures, a casing having a sight hole, a sheetof glass so arranged relatively to said sight hole and supports that twoof the pictures thereon are visible from said sight hole simultaneously,one through the glass and the other by reflection therefrom, means forilluminating first the picture on one of said supports exclusively, andthen the picture on the other support exclusively, and means for movingthe supports whereby a fresh pair of pictures is brought into thevisible position, substantially as described.

2. In a dissolving view machine, the combination of a plurality ofindividual supports for pictures, a casing having a sight hole, a sheetof glass so arranged relatively to said sight hole and supports that twoof the pictures thereon are visible from said sight hole simultaneously,one through the glass and the other by reflection therefrom, means forilluminating first the picture on one of said supports exclusively, thenthe pictures on both supports, and then the picture on the other supportexclusively, and means for moving the supports whereby a fresh pair ofpictures is brought into the said visible position, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a dissolving view machine, the com bination of a plurality ofindividual sup ports for pictures, a casing having a sight hole, a sheetof glass so arranged relatively to said sight hole and supports that twoof the pictures thereon are visible from said sight hole simultaneously,one through the glass and the other by reflection therefrom,

means for illuminating first the picture on one of said supportsexclusively, then the pictures on both supports, and then the picture onthe other support exclusively, and means for moving the supports wherebya fresh pair of pictures is brought into the said visible position, saidmoving means being in operation for each support only when the picturethereon is not illuminated and exposed to view through the sight hole,substantially as described.

4. In a dissolving view machine, the combination of a suitable frame, apair of drums revolubly supported thereon, each drum having supports fora plurality of pictures, means for revolving said drums intermittentlyand alternately, a casing having a sight hole, a sheet of glass soarranged that a single picture on each drum is visible from said sighthole simultaneously, one through said glass, and the other by reflectiontherefrom, and means for illuminating first one of said picturesexclusively, then both simultaneously, and then the other exclusively,substantially as described.

5. In a dissolving view machine, the com bination of a suitable frame, apair of drums revolubly supported thereon, each drum having supports fora plurality of pictures, means for revolving said drums intermittentlyand alternately, a casing having a sight hole, a sheet of glass soarranged that a single picture on each drum is visible from said sighthole simultaneously, one through said glass, and the other by reflectiontherefrom, and means for illuminating first one of said picturesexclusively, then both simultaneously, and then the other exclusively,the illuminating means being operative on either picture only when themoving means is inoperative on the drum supporting said picture,substantially as described.

6. In a dissolving view machine, the combination of a plurality ofindividual supports for pictures, a casing having a sight hole, a lenstherein, the sight hole being contracted below said lens, a sheet ofthick glass so arranged relatively to said sight hole that two of thepictures are visible from said sight hole, one through the glass and oneby reflection therefrom, and means for variably illuminating thepictures on the supports alternately, substantially as described.

7. In a picture exhibitor, the combination with a pair of rotatablymounted cylinders adapted to receive pictures, and to display the same,one at a time, of means by which the cylinders may be alternatelyrotated through an are equal to the width of one of the pictures, andmeans whereby the cylinders will be alternately illuminated making apicture visible on one cylinder, while the unilluminated cylinder isrotated, substantially as described.

8. In a picture exhibitor, the combination with two rotatably mountedcylinders one of which is adapted to be seen directly by an observer,and the other to be seen by reflection, of means by Which the cylindersmay be alternately rotated through a fraction of their circumferences,and means adapted to alternately illuminate the cylinders, substantiallyas described.

9. The combination with a plurality of sets of pictures disposed at anangle to each other when in position to be exhibited, of a reflectordisposed between said pictures and making an equal angle with each andhaving a degree of transparency such as to permit one picture to beviewed directly when illuminated, and to reflect the image of the otherpicture when it is illuminated, means for illuminating one of saidpictures at a time, and means for shifting a picture of one set While apicture of the other set is illuminated, substantially as described.

10. The combination With a transparent reflector, of means for renderinga group of pictures to be visible, one at a time from in front of saidreflector, means permitting a second group of pictures to be visible oneat a time from the same point by reflection from said reflector, andmeans for alternately illuminating said pictures, substantially asdescribed.

11. The combination with a transparent reflector of means for renderinga group of pictures to be visible, one at a time from in front of saidreflector, means permit-ting a second group of pictures to be visibleone at a time from the same point by reflection from said reflector, andautomatic means for alternately illuminating said pictures,substantially as described.

12. The combination with a transparent reflector, of means for renderinga group of pictures to be visible one at a time from in front of saidreflector, means permitting a second group of pictures to be visible oneat.a time from the same point by reflection from said reflector, meansfor alternately illuminating said pictures, and means for shifting apicture of one group while a picture of the other group is illuminated,substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

TARLETON B. EASTMAN. WVitnesses:

FRANoIs M. WRIGHT, Bnssm GORFINKEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

